Katia: Assess situation
by Quintus C
Summary: Katia Managan once again finds herself in a pickle.


**Katia: Assess situation**

_Katia …_

_Katia, wake up!_

Urngh …

_Katia, are you all right? Check yourself over. No broken bones or anything, right?_

None of my own, anyway …

Yeah, aside from some bruises, I'm all right. It looks like this pile of skeletons broke my fall.

Oh. Ouch.

I'm lucky one of these bones didn't impale me.

_Katia, examine your surroundings._

Good idea.

It looks like a featureless brown cell, made of stone. Apart from the pile of bones, there are no accommodations, not even a bed. There's a set of bars at the front that look out into an equally featureless brown hallway.

_You seem remarkably calm right now, Katia. Are you all right?_

It's … not the first time I've been in a cell.

_So, Katia … What was up with you and Dro'Sha up there?_

I don't want to talk about Dro'Sha.

I don't know. I guess I took the act too far. I was so happy to have finally met one of my own kind who seemed like he might actually _help_ me, that I guess I got carried away and didn't notice what a creep he was. When he touched me … ugh. He's a creep, a conman, an egotist, and now that I know he has a dungeon full of skeletons under his house, I suppose I can add psychopath to the list.

_So, time to think about getting out of there?_

Definitely.

_The Khajiit's journey calls, to destiny she crawls, scaling the walls with well-sharpened claws …_

I don't have well-sharpened claws. Even if I did, these walls are smooth as granite. I'm not climbing out of here.

_See if you can break the bars. If no one's been down here for a while, they might be rusty._

The bars aren't in _great_ condition, but they're sturdy enough, and the lock seems to be functional. I suppose that means someone does visit these cells once in a while. It could be worse—he could have dropped me into an oubliette.

_Loot the bones. You might find something valuable, or even something you can use to escape._

These bones aren't hiding anything one wouldn't conceivably be carrying when they're unexpectedly dropped into a hole. There's nothing of value, but …

Yep. That's a Khajiit skull.

_Do as the great Jack Sparrow did and pick the lock with a femur._

I don't know who that is, but it's worth a shot.

Nope, just as I thought, you can't actually fit a bone inside a prison lock. Even if you could, I'm not sure what it would accomplish.

_Pick the lock with your claws._

Didn't I already say my claws are not well-sharpened? Besides, if that were possible, there wouldn't be so many Khajiit in jail right now.

_Hey furhead, are you a wizard or aren't you? Cast Open Door and get the hell out of there._

Oh, right. I forgot I could do that.

The door's not opening. I guess it's too strong a lock for my magic.

_Maybe you can blast through the bars with your fire._

It's no good. My flames don't actually get hot enough to melt iron.

_Hey Katia, do you still have that lockpick?_

…

Let us never speak of this again.

_Well done, Katia. But be careful. You don't know what or who you'll run into down here._

Got it. The place is almost pitch dark—I'll use my nightvision and try to keep my footsteps quiet.

Whoa. Didn't expect that.

_That's a fully intact skeleton. Say hi to him. Maybe he's got something useful to say._

"Um, hi. Nice to meet you."

…

"Sorry you got impaled on a spike."

…

"So, anything you can tell me about this dungeon?"

…

I think he said, "Watch out for the spikes."

_So Dro'Sha booby traps his basement dungeon? Or did he pin that guy there for whatever sick reason? Either way, I have a feeling there's more going on than falsely imprisoning people._

_Take a look around._

As far as I can see, this hall isn't actually that long. There are a few other cells here. At one end is a plain wooden door. At the other end …

Yeah, I don't want to think about what goes on in there.

_Open the plain wooden door._

Looks like I found Dro'Sha's wine cellar.

This is the expensive wine he tried to serve me at dinner. There are whole casks of the stuff. I'd really like to grab a cup and open one of these spigots …

_See if there's someone sealed in the walls._

That's not going to happen. If there are people in these walls, they can stay there.

_Plan your next course of action. It's probably not smart to just walk up the stairs. You need to think of a way to escape without being seen._

Yeah, I have to confess I don't really know what to do from here.

I just need a moment to collect myself. Things haven't been particularly _lucky_ for me, you know? At least this place is relatively safe, under the cover of darkness, and—

Someone just opened the stairway door.


End file.
